First Deal in Montgomery, AL - Wholesale, flip, hold?

[Matt Bell]

Hi BP Community,

I just got a contract accepted on a foreclosure in Montgomery, AL in a good area near a local college. The contract price is $39,900. My realtor gave me an ARV of $117,730. I do not have a good rehab estimate yet but a contractor I was referred to says he has rehabbed similar age houses in the same area and he expects top end to be $30,000 but should be less for sure. My realtor's company also does property management and they gave me an estimated rent of $750-$900/mo in rent depending on how nice we fix it up.

Ultimately I am trying to build up a portfolio of buy and hold properties to rent to law students in the Montgomery Area but since this is my first deal and I live in Houston - I am wondering what advice you may have on wholesaling it for maybe a $10,000 fee, flip it for a potential profit of $40K+/-, or rehab and rent it out.  If anyone has good contractor recommendations for Montgomery - please let me know because as a remote investor - that will make or break this deal unless I wholesale.

If I rent it out, my costs would be as follows:

$455/mo PITI

$100/mo property management fees

$150/mo allocated to repairs/vacancy (build up over time as major items should be repaired during rehab)

That would leave me with $45-$195/mo in cash flow.  Although, if we rehab to rent we can probably go a little cheaper on finishes and save some money on the rehab as opposed to trying to flip for retail.

Your feedback and advice is greatly appreciated.  Excited to have my first deal working.

Matt